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As the Queen peered into the camera lens for her 2019 Christmas Day message, uttering the time-honored mixture of platitudes and gentle allusions to earth-shattering events, there was a striking sense that this was the end of an era.
The Queen described the past year as “quite bumpy”—which some people might say is a rather understated reaction to your 98-year-old husband being in a car crash and nearly killing both himself and a baby, your favorite son being defenestrated on primetime TV, and your grandson and wife making clear their discontent with royal life.
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Her voice was slow and slightly furry, and she seemed bewildered as the camera floated around the room rather than remaining in a fixed spot.
She seemed, frankly, absolutely exhausted and we should be little surprised at that fact given this second “annus horribilis.”
The 98-year-old Prince Philip's hospitalization has focused minds on what the Queen would do if her husband dies before her.
Although the palace insists that the Queen will never formally abdicate, it is becoming increasingly clear that she will do so in all but name when Philip goes, handing the reins of power to Charles.
Sources have previously told The Daily Beast that she will emulate the example of her great hero, Queen Victoria, who retreated to Balmoral in Scotland after Albert’s death, returning to London only occasionally for unavoidable occasions of state such as the Trooping of the Color or the state opening of Parliament.
Charles will pick up the baton. And who will help him? Well, to judge from the carefully selected photographs arrayed on her desk, it will be his wife Camilla, and William and Kate.
The exclusion of Harry and Meghan from a selection of family photographs displayed on the Queen’s desk was the clearest sign yet that they are being cut from the inner circle of those expected and commanded and trusted to provide selfless and dutiful service just as ruthlessly as their one-time analogies, Andrew, Edward, were before them.
Not including a mere photo of Harry, Meghan and the new baby was almost a rerun of the way that Andrew and Edward were excluded from a balcony appearance after the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012, to telegraph the long term plans for their redundancy. Some saw the hand of Prince Charles at work once again.
Although the Queen spoke of her ‘delight’ at the birth of Harry and Meghan’s son Archie, there is no doubt that there is a sense in the family now that they can not be relied upon to toe the line and do what they are asked uncomplainingly.
They have their own ideas about what will be the most “impactful” (to quote a word oft bandied about by sources who know and work with Meghan) way to leverage their celebrity royalty and have always bristled at any attempts by the dour and cautious old guard of the court to tell them what to do and how to do that.
Their six-week sabbatical from royal duties (the couple are known to have spent some of it in Canada) has raised eyebrows because it is completely unprecedented.
William and Kate, and indeed the Queen and Philip, may have understood and been sympathetic to Harry and Meghan’s inability to cope, but they are unlikely to have been hugely impressed by the response of taking flight and hiding.
William and Kate had a far from easy ride as Kate assimilated into the royal family, and they have been openly critical of Harry and Meghan’s approach. They went so far as to question Harry’s stability in a series of off-the-record briefings after Harry and Meghan’s outspoken African interviews in which they appeared to criticize the family for not supporting them.
The Queen made what many interpreted as a discrete reference to Brexit as she spoke of the need for moving forward and reconciliation, saying, “Reconciliation seldom happens overnight. It takes patience and time to rebuild trust.”
The Queen loves Harry and is undoubtedly heartbroken by the prospect of yet another damaging rift emerging at the heart of the house of Windsor. It may even do much to explain her pervasive weariness (and if anyone thinks the Queen has an easy ride, imagine having to go to church twice on Christmas Day, once at 9 a.m. and once at 11 a.m., at the age of 93 because one of your sons’ behavior has caught up with him.)
When she added a line about the importance of “being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together,” suspicious minds might have thought she was gently urging her grandchildren to do just that.
